The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Aechmea, botanically known as Aechmea chantinii and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Fantasy’.
The new Aechmea is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Aechmea chantinii cultivar Fantasia, not patented. The new Aechmea was discovered and selected by the Inventor from within a population of plants of ‘Fantasia’ in a controlled greenhouse environment in Princeton, Fla. in May, 2003. The new Aechmea was selected based on its unique variegated leaves; plants of the cultivar Fantasia have solid green-colored leaves.
Asexual reproduction of the new Aechmea by offsets in a controlled environment in Princeton, Fla. since June, 2004, has shown that the unique features of this new Aechmea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.